This may seem surprising to the modern generation, but it was enough for a Soviet person to have 3 kopecks in his pocket in order, for example, to buy soda. And not only her... What else could be allowed for 2-3 kopecks in those years?
1. Soviet soft drinks
Among a number of positive phenomena that characterize the era of the USSR, one can name affordable prices. The latter were controlled at the state level. Therefore, citizens had the opportunity to plan their expenses even before receiving a salary and even set aside money to buy this or that thing. Yes, they saved up for furniture or a car for years. But all this long time, the population was in full confidence that the price of this product would not change upwards. However, the same goods cost differently in the regions of a huge country.
And yet: what goods could the citizens of the Soviet state afford for 3 kopecks? Yes, even delicious non-alcoholic drinks. For example, tangerine syrup or kvass from a barrel. And for 3 kopecks you could buy a glass of soda with syrup. In extreme heat, such prices for drinks pretty much helped out citizens, especially students, who already had every penny in their account.
The older generation, who happened to live in the Soviet era, remember the soda machines placed on the streets. These devices were provided with a coin acceptor for 3-kopeck coins.
It is worth noting that, despite the affordability, these machines offered carbonated water to choose from. Therefore, every Soviet citizen had the opportunity to drink the drink that he liked best to taste.
As for kvass, for 3 kopecks you could buy a small glass of this drink. By the way, those who have tried Soviet kvass claim that its taste is incomparably better than modern analogues. Today we would buy it in stores already bottled in plastic bottles. And in the USSR, kvass was sold directly from the barrel, which was located on the streets. Passers-by, who were tormented by thirst, approached the barrel, paid 3 kopecks and drank a small glass of kvass. And those who bought this drink not for themselves alone, but for the whole family, approached the barrel with cans in their hands. Tea cost 3 kopecks in Soviet cafes and school canteens.
2. And what else?
Newspapers were sold for 3 kopecks. And with this money you could buy a school notebook for 18 sheets. In order to buy a ticket for a tram, it was also enough to spend 3 kopecks.
It is worth noting that in those years, controllers were certainly present in public transport, whose duties included monitoring the payment of fares by passengers. Those who, for one reason or another, tried to ride the tram for free, were immediately fined or taken to the police station.
Soviet families treated the provision of school stationery with high responsibility for children. In addition, these goods were quite cheap. So, any school notebook for 18 sheets cost 3 kopecks, regardless of whether it was in a cage or in a line. They did not differ in color and did not have colorful images. And another feature of Soviet notebooks can be called the presence of blotters.
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Here it is worth mentioning separately about the back of the school notebooks of the Soviet period. Very useful, from the point of view of the country's leadership, information for the younger generation was printed on it. For example, the text of the national anthem. Or the rules of multiplication, the Pythagorean table, etc. And you could also read the oaths of the pioneers on the back of the Soviet school notebook. Yes, yes, every student of that era was obliged to know them.
Today we get all the information from the Internet. And in the USSR they could not even dream of such a miracle. The Soviet people learned the latest news from the newspapers. The products were available, and for only 3 kopecks a person received information about what was happening in the region and in the country. In kiosks for this price you could buy such printed publications as:
• "Truth";
• "Labor";
• "TVNZ";
• Izvestia»
and etc.
3. For just 2 cents...
But do not think that the price of 3 kopecks was the lowest bar. Even cheaper - only 2 kopecks - cost a Soviet person a conversation on a pay phone. For the same money, you could buy a set of loops and hooks (as many as 10 pairs!). The tariff for payment of electricity for 1 kW / h in those houses where electric stoves were used was also equal to 2 kopecks. And in the pharmacy for this money you could buy 10 tablets of glucose or potassium permanganate.
So, although not global, but still urgent needs were solved in the USSR by 2 and 3 kopecks.
Source: https://novate.ru/blogs/030222/62049/